Automobile-top.



S. KRHN.

AUTOMOBILE TOP.

APPLICATION NEED SEPT-23, 19% V 133mm, Emma June 26, 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

ifix wvaMoz S.KAHN. AUTOMOBILE TOP. APPLICATION HLED SEPT-2% I916.

Patented J une 26, 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 I'I/I/I/IIIIIIIIIIIIIiIIIII/IIIII VII/III TIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII/fl r 3 wpewto c 52108 n 5 a lllllllllll 1 I v SILAS KAHN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

AUTOMOBILE-TOP.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 26, 1917.

Application filed September 23, 1916. Serial No..121,718.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it linown that I, SILAs KAHN, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at New York city, county of Bronx, "and State ,of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automobile- Tops, of which the following is a full, clear,

and exact description. I

This invention relates to improvements 1n vehicle-tops, and has for its object to provide a top for automobiles, which, when folded or down, will be hidden from view and also entirely protected from the elements; in other words, my improved top or cover is arranged to disappear when not in. use. My improved top is arranged to roll. up within a suitable receptacle, preferably located within the padding of the back of the rear seat, although 'the said receptacle may be located exteriorly of the body. In combination with my improved top, I employ side curtains which are preferably permanently secured to the top and arranged to lie flat against the same either on the outer or inner surface of the top.

Other features and details of my improve ment will be hereinafter set forth.

I will now proceed to describe my invention in'detail, the essential features of which will be summarized in the appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part hereof; wherein- Figure 1 is a diagrammatic side view of an automobile havingmy improved top applied thereto; I

Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional View, taken through the back of the tonneau and illustrating a means for receiving the rolled up top;

Fig. 3 isan enlarged fragmentary. plan view of the front end of the cover showing one of the hinged side-bows;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the top, the section being taken on a line Fig. 10 is a fragmentary sectional view illustrating the bow for the rear portion of the top; and

Fig. 11 is an enlarged sectional detail view of the roller upon which the cover is wound. I

Referring to the drawings, my improved cover consists of a sheet 12 of any suitable material which is flexible enough to be rolled up. In this instance, I have arranged to roll the cover up upon a roller 13 mounted within a casing 14, which in this instance is located within the padding 15 of the back of the rear seat. It is of course obvious that the casing 14, as well as the roller 13 carried 'thefiby, will extend entirely across the body of the vehicle. As can be seen in Fig. 2, the casing 14 is provided with a mouth or opening 16 through which the top 12 passes.

To maintain the top inraised position, as illustrated in Fig. 1, I employ supportingmembers (on each side of the top body), the rear members 17 being pivotally secured to the body 18 of the vehicle at 19, the front members 20 being ivotally secured to the top 12 at 21 and detachably secured to the car-body 18 at 22. Diagonal braces 23 are employed (one only being shown) to maintain the front section 24 of the top 12 in stretched condition. The usual straps 25 (one only being shown) may be employed to connect the braces 23 and wind-shield 26.

For the purposes of my improvements, the rear supports 17 are made up of tubular members 27 and rods 28 which are slidably supported by the members 27, the rods being connected by a cross-bar 29 which carries a roller 30 over which the top or sheet 12 is passed. To hold the slidably connected members 27 and 28 either in extended or closed positions, I may employ set-screws 31 (Fig. 6) or other fastening means. There is no rigid connection between the top or sheet 12 and the rear support 17.

In order that all of the elements of the top may at all times be connected, I pivotally secure the front supporting-members 20 to a cross-bar 32 secured to the top or sheet 12, and pivotally secure at 23 one end of each diagonal brace 23 to a cross-bar 33 located at the front edge of the top or sheet 12. (See Fig. 3).

The free end of each supporting-member 20 is arranged for detachable connection to the body 18 at 22, the free end of each brace being arranged for detachable connection, at 34, to its corresponding supporting member 20.

To pivotally connect the upper end of each supportingunember 20, I provide each end of the crossbar 32 with a jaw 35 to'receive the upper end 36 of the supportingmembers 20. The pins 21 pivotally retain the upper end of said supporting-members within the jaws 35.

To 'pivotally connect the braces 23 with the cross-bar 33, I employ a universal connction consisting of a pin 37 carried by a bloclr 38 pivotally retained within a jaw 39 by the pin 23*". The free end of each brace 23 is provided with an eye 40 to receive the pin 3 (See Fig. 3).

The particular type of connections at 22 and 34 have not been illustrated for the reason that it is a well known arrangement for connecting the front supports of an automobile top to the body, consisting merely of an eye, carried by the supports, to receive a pin, indicated by 22, carried by the body. Fig. 3 illustrates the manner of connecting the diagonal braces and the supporting-members 20, while Fig. 4 illustrates the eyes carried by the lower or free ends of the supporting-members 20, said eyes being indicated by 41.

In combination with the elements set forth, I employ side curtains indicated by 42, 43, 44 and 45 (see Fig. 6), the rear side curtain 44 being illustrated (in Fig. 1) as lowered. The free edge of each curtain is provided with eyes 46 to engage buttons or fasteners 47 on the body 18. The fasteners may be 'of any well known type.

To fold or close the top, the diagonal braces 23 will be detached from the supports 20, by removing the pins 34, and then swung upwardly and over to lie upon the cover 12. The supports 20 will then be detached from the car-body 18 and swung upwardly and over to lie upon the cover '12, as shown in Fig. 4. The roller 13 will always be under tension, and acts at all times to exert a pull upon the cover 12 in the direction of the arrow, due to the. provision of the coil-spring 48, one end of which is secured to a block 49 fixed to the body 18, the other end of said spring being secured to a block 50 secured to the roller 13. The block 50 is rotatably supported by the carbody' 18, but is secured to the roller 13, the

roller 13 being rotatably supported by the fixed block 49. Hence the spring 48 acts,

at all times, to rotate the roller 13 in a direction to roll up the cover 12.

When the front supports 20 have been detached from the body; and folded (the cover 12 being held against movement during such folding operation) the roller 13 can be allowed to rotate and wind the cover 12 thereupon, the roller 30 on the rear support 17 revolving during the winding up operation. As soon as the hook 51 at the I front edge 52 of the cover (see Fig. 5) contacts the roller 30 and engages same, the rear bow-members 27 and 28 can be telescoped and dropped to the position indicated in Fig. 2, causing the roller 30 to fill the mouth or opening 16 in the casing 14. (See Fig. 2). The cover 12 will now be entirely concealed.

The swung over supports 20 and braces 23 will in no way interfere with the rolling up of the cover 12, as the mouth 16 will be large enough for the passage of the said supports and braces as well as the srde'curtains carried by the top. The roller 30 on the rear support acts as a filler to close the mouth 16 when the cover is folded.

To raise the cover, it is but necessary to swing the rear support upwardly, which action will cause the cover to unroll, due to the connection between the hook 51 and roller 30.

The cover will 'now be pulled ahead until the supports 20 come to the proper position, at which time they will be unfolded and attached to the body; the diagonal braces can now be unfolded and secured to the supports 20, after which the straps 25 can be connected to the wind-shield. After the above operation has taken place, the rear supporting-members 27 and 28 can be extended and secured by the set-screws 31.v

The extension of the rear supporting-members will stretch the cover or pull it taut.

One of the advantages of the extensible rear support is that the cover 12 will never sag or become slack, for the reason that the said supporting-members can always be positioned to pull the cover taut; L

The side curtains have been illustrated as folded over against the outer surface of the top for convenience only. If desirable, they can be folded under to lie against the inner surface of the cover.

What I claim as my invention is: g

1. In combination with a vehicle body, a receptacle carried thereby, a rotatable roller within said receptacle, a cover for said vehicle secured to said roller and arranged. to be rolled up and wound upon said roller, means to rotatesaid roller, front supporting elements hingedly secured, at one end thereof, to said cover and arranged to be swung over and lie against the upper surface of said cover and to be enveloped by said cover -when said cover is rolled up, and a rear supporting element for said cover pivotally secured to the body of said vehicle and arranged to place said cover under tension when said cover is positioned for use.

2. In combination with a vehicle body, a cover therefor adapted to be rolled up means carried by the vehicle to roll said cover up, a cross-bar secured to the cover adjacent the front end thereof, a support- 1% ing-member hinged at one end thereof to said cross-bar at each end thereof and arranged for detachable securemen't to the vehicle body, a supporting-member at the rear of the vehicle body, a roller carried by 'said supporting-member, and means carried by the cover, at the front edge thereof, to

\engage said roller when the cover is rolled up to facilitate the extension of said cover When said supporting-member is raised to positlon same for use.

3. In combination with a.vehi'cle body, a

cover therefor adapted to be rolled up, means carried by the vehicle to roll said cover up, a cross-bar secured to the cover adjacent the front end thereof, a supportingmember hinged atone end thereof to said cross-bar at each end thereof and arranged for detachable securement to the vehicle body, a supporting-member at the rear of the vehicle body, a roller carried by said said supporting-member is raised to position same for use. 7

- Signed at New York city, N. Y., this 22 day of September, 1916.

SILAS KAHN.

Witnesses:

MAUmoE BLooK,

EDWARD A. JARVIS. 

